One year ago on April 4, there was a cruelty case involving bad neglect of horses that ended up being postponed every month for a year. Twice during that year, a representative of Equine Angels Rescue drove to the district court for a hearing, only to learn that it had been canceled. The state trooper handling the case didn’t feel he had to alert us about the postponement. Then, the trooper didn’t notify us about the rescheduling of the hearing for this month, which he was supposed to do. The hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 4. When we learned about the rescheduled hearing at virtually the last minute, an Equine Angels Rescue representative tried to make it to the district court in time but arrived a few minutes late. By that time the distict judge already had dismissed the case. This is the kind of justice for animals that we’re witnessing in Butler County, especially for horses. We can’t change anything when judges and police don’t care. This kind of situation has to stop. This county needs a humane officer. What’s needed is someone who will write up charges, appear at hearings and in general look out for the welfare of this county’s animals. Currently, Butler County’s justice system is mostly about looking the other way on such neglect cases, especially if the person who is causing harm to animals is a “good ol’ buddy.” Enough is enough. We will not let this die.